England’s Lionesses at Euro 2025: Does diversity matter?

In 2022, the lack of diversity in the Lionesses squad didn’t stop them from winning the Euros. The players were selected on merit according to their form, or their potential top form. With the return of the Euros, this article reviews the current Lionesses squad and why it still lacks diversity.

Euro 2025

On Thursday June 5^th England women announced their Euro 2025 squad. Head coach Sarina Wiegman is a 2-time winner of the Euros. She led her native ‘Orange’ Lionesses to victory in 2017 and repeated the feat in 2022 with England. She’s a proven elite national team coach.

In 2022 the England squad included three players with Black ancestry. The media highlighted the squad’s lack of diversity. Collectively, these players experienced 23 minutes of playing time.

The 2025 squad has four players with Black ancestry which equates to 17%. So compared to the 64% in the recent England men’s squad, the diversity in the Lionesses is low.

25 Black Lionesses

England women have given senior debuts to 25 players with Black ancestry and Kerry Davis is the first. She debuted in September 1982 and went onto score 43 in 90 appearances.

Davis was followed by Hope Powell and Brenda Sempare in 1983. Sammy Britton (1991), Mary Philip (1996) and Rachel Yankey (1997) increased the number to six before the end of the millennium.

Rachel Yankey became England’s first Black Centurian when she won her 100^thcap in 2010. Eniola Aluko (105 caps) and Alex Scott (140 caps) have also achieved the feat.

The latest to be capped is Michelle Agyemang who scored on her debut. She became the 25^th Lioness with Black ancestry. The equivalent figure for England men is 122, so the gulf in diversity is clear to see.

WSL clubs lack diversity

One factor for the lack of diversity is the representation of Black players in the football pyramid. The Athletic reported players from Black or minority backgrounds make up15% of the Women’s Super League (WSL).

The Premier League’s figure is 43% according to The Black Footballers Partnership. The WSL figure drops considerably when omitting foreign players.

With the visibility of Black English players low in the WSL, it can have an impact on the Lionesses squad. I asked former Lioness Kerry Davis for her thoughts on this.

“It is important to have visibility of people that look like you at the top of the game, so you can aspire to follow in their footsteps. If you see it, you can be it. It is very important to have visible role models.“

Participation hinders diversity 

In 2025 just 50% of secondary schools offer equal access to football for girls and boys. However, outside of schools the number of girls teams has doubled over seven years,which suggests the access for girls to participate has improved.

Kerry Davis says “it is only just recently that girls have been encouraged to play football at school. This is a really important stepping stone for girls from all backgrounds, as they will now have the opportunity to play football more regularly.”

Yet the barrier to ‘female sports participation’ remains high during important development stages. Studies show that more than half of girls aged 12-16 do not play sport. Weak government policies on school PE, frugal central investment and puberty hinder female participation.

Furthermore, research by Women in Sport states that girls from diverse backgrounds aspire to play sport, but racism and misogyny are barriers.

Women’s football is forecasted to become a top 5 global sport by 2030. But what appears clear is that the women’s football pyramid and product life cycle are at completely different stages to the men’s.

Davis agrees when saying “Women’s football is probably decades behind the men’s game but I believe the FA are doing positive work to improve this.” Therefore campaigns like ‘Made For This Game’ are vital for its development at grassroots level.

The future

In the past five years, the Lionesses have given debuts to four players with Black ancestry. The equivalent men’s number is 26. This is not the fault of the players or the coaches. The problems are rooted in past government policies and inadequate funding and infrastructure.

Looking forwards, the future appears to be more promising. The under 19’s squad was announced on June 10^th, and it included 8 players with African, Asian or Caribbean ancestry.

So with the Football Association working towards change, the lack of diversity in the current senior squad should not matter, for now at least.

By Richard Flash

Richard Flash is a senior lecturer in football and sport business management. He has 30 years of industry experience from playing professional sport, managing sport businesses and higher education leadership.

His research focuses on the racisms faced by the Premier League’s Black footballers, and he is a consultant to the anti-racism organisations Kick It Out, Show Racism the Red Card and The Football Black List.

Linktree – https://linktr.ee/theblacksocceracademic